Template



March 4 1924@ G. E. POTTER ET AL TEMPLATE Filed Feb. 2. 1921 Patented Wlan 4, l924.

'narran lerares tisane earner eterea.

GEORGE E'. POTTER AND ELVIE L. POTTER, OF CHICAGO, ILLNOIS.

TEMPLATE.

Application led February 2, 1921. Serial No. 441,893.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it lrnown that we, GEORGE E. POTTER and EriviE L. POTTER, both citizens of the United States, and residents of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State. of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Templates, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

Our invention relates to improvements in templates for tearing monetary documents to indicate the value thereof or the amount to be paid, and it consists in the combinations, constructions and arrangements herein described and claimed.

An object of our invention is to provide a device by means of which a document may be torn along a line which defines a column of figures, thence along a line transve 1sely with respect to the column on the Opposite side thereof, and thence along a line parallel to the first line, by a force exerted in the general direction of the column.

A further object of our invention is to provide a template of rela-tively simple construction, having parallel edges at the upper and lower portions of the device, joined by a diagonally extending edge, the junction of the diagonally extending edge with the parallel edges being rounded.

@ther objects and advantages will appear in the following specification, and the novel features of the invention will be particularly pointed out in the appended claim.

Our invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, forming part of this application, in, which- Figure l" is a face view of a template showing its use in connection with a check,

Figure 2 is a section along the line .2*2 of Figure l, and

Figure 3 is a plan view of the template.

In carrying out our invention, we provide a flat plate l which is preferably made of metal and is substantially the shape shown in Figure 8. This plate is provided with an upper edge 2 and a lower edge 3 along which a document is designed to be torn. Joining the upper and lower edges 2 and 3 is a diagonal edge 4 which is rounded at 5 and 6, these rounded edges being tangent to the edges 2 and 3. The tearing edges of the plate are beveled, as shown at 7 in Figure 2. Holes 8 and 9 are preferably provided in the upper portion of the template. The template is designed to be used in connection with a monetary document which forms the subject of a separate application. This monetary document has columns of figures separating the body portion l0 from the stub portion l1, these columns being arranged in series, that is to say, the beginning of one column bein-g below the end of the adjacent column, and the columns themselves being offset, as shown in the drawing. Tf a check, for instance, is made out for a given amount, the amount may be indicated by tearing the body portion from the stub along lines eX- tending across the columns. Thus if the check is for $560.00, the check is torn along the diagonal line underneath the figure 5 in the hundreds column and also along the diagonal line underneath the figure 6 in the tens column, thus leaving figures 5 and 6 as the last figures in the hundreds and tens columns, respectively.

The tearing is done in the following manner: the template l is first placed in the dotted line position shown in Figure l, with the cutting edge 2 on the line between the thousands and hundreds columns. With the end of a finger placed in each hole and a thumb pressing on the lower portion of the template, the latter is firmly held in position and is kept from twisting. The body portion of the document is now grasped and the check is torn down the edge- 2, until the diagonal portion of the template is reached which was previously placed on the line between t-he figures 5 and 6 of the hundreds column. This will cause the tear to follow along the line between the figures 5 and 6 to a point on the line between the hundreds and tens columns. The template is now shifted so that the diagonal portion registers with the line between the figures 6 and 7 of the tens column, and the tear is completed by tearing off the body portion of the check, thus leaving the figures 5 of the hundreds column and 6 of the tens column.

We are aware that templates for tearing monetary documents are not broadly new, but the main feature of the invention in the present instance lies in the provision of a template having upper and lower tearing edges joined by a diagonal tearing edge, having rounded corners which are tangent to the tearing edges. This permits a document to be torn down one side of a column, then diagonally across the column and down on the other side with a single tearing motion, that is to say, with force exerted in one general direction, without the necessity of Q I Memos stopping at the corners to change the line of the tearing force. `We are aware of templates which will permit the tearing of a document on one side of a column to a given point, at which the tearing force must be shifted to another direction to tear across the column, when it must be again shifted to tear down the other side of the column. Our invention, as stated, obviates the necessity of shifting the tearing force, and greatly eXpedites the tearing of the document to correctly indicate the amount to be paid, or the value.

le claim:

A template consisting of a single piece of flat and relatively thin metal, said template having a beveled upper side cutting edge and a beveled lower side cutting edge spaced from said upper edge, said edges being parallel with respect to each other, an intermediate cutting edge extending obliquely to said first named cutting edges so as to make relatively large obtuse angles therewith, a curved cutting edge tangent to said upper side cutting edge and to said intermediate cutting edge, a curved cutting edge tangent to said lower side cutting edge and to said intermediate cutting edge, said template being provided with two finger openings adjacent to its narrow end.

GEORGE E. POTTER.

ELVE L. POTTER. 

